A History of Maya

This is not just my first attempt at reporting a game of Civ III, but it’s also my first attempt at the Regent level in ANY Civ game as well as my first Pangaea game. So, basically, it's going to be a crash-course for me. The settings are as follows: Large map, 70% water, Pangaea, Normal climate, Temperate, 4 billion years, Roaming barbarians, Regent difficulty, normal AI aggressiveness. Culturally linked starting positions is deactivated, as is preserve random seed and AI respawn. Wonder and Space Race victories are disabled. Conquest, Domination, Diplomatic, and Cultural victories are enabled. All comments and advice are appreciated in this “learning experience”. ^^ On a final note, each post will be an important part of history. This one'll be short, as it just leads up to the first road connection between the two Mayan cities. There WILL be more today, though.

Part 1: Birth of the Mayan Nation

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/MayaStart1.JPG Decent enough start, I guess.

4000 BC: The first turn of this hopefully-good game. My starting position is pretty far north, but I’m surrounded by grassland and am right next to a river, so I don’t think it’s a bad position. Chichén Itza is founded immediately, revealing some Tundra to my north. Not that I hadn’t expected it, of course. Begin producing a Warrior, start research towards Ceremonial Burial.

3750 BC: My first Warrior unit is produced! I send it out to pop a goody hut near my small city.

3600 BC: All I get is a stupid map expansion. Oh well. Worker finished roads to some Wines, giving my people happiness! ^^

3400 – 3350 BC: Pop a goody hut and anger some Anasazi warriors. Bleh. I wipe two of them out (promoting my Warrior to veteran) while one heads straight for Chichén Itza.

3300 BC: Stupid Barbarian almost beats the city’s defense…but it’s fended off. Research on Ceremonial Burial is complete. Begin research into Warrior Code.

3200 BC: My first Settler is produced! ^^ Expansion has begun.

3050 BC: With good luck, my Veteran Warrior pops a Goody Hut and I get Mysticism! All free techs are good techs.

2950 BC: Copán is founded to the south! Begin working on a Warrior to defend the city.

2550 BC: Road connection to Copán is completed! With quicker contact between the two cities possible, the Mayan Nation is formed. And none too soon, for contact with another nation is made to the east, for the Japanese have entered the scene of Mayan history. Reports from the northwest also seem to point toward a civilized people existing in the icy wastelands not far from Chichén Itza. Looks like Maya is going to go through some changes soon.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/MayanNation1.JPG The tiny Mayan nation and all known territory around it.

Will these new contacts lead to war, peace, or something else? Only time will tell what happens to the Mayans and their growing nation.

Wow what is the map size? I've never seen 2 capitals so close to eachouther!
(Referring to the pink(?) border north west of capital)

He said it was a Large Pangea.

Part 2: Expansion, Growth, Contact, Tension

2500 BC: Since the Japanese don’t seem to want to contact me directly, I decide to initiate negotiations. Look into what techs they have. Bronze Working and The Wheel. So, I ask what they’ll give for Masonry, and they are prepared to give up a whopping ten gold for it. Woo hoo. I’m NOT completely convinced by this, so I click on Bronze Working. Lo and behold, they’re WILLING to part with it. This may be a bad idea, but I accept the trade. The Japanese go from Annoyed to Cautious, so, uh, yay. Nothing else worthy of note this turn.

2470 BC: Warrior Code is completed! Begin research on Iron Working. Temple is completed in Chichén Itza, begin working on my next Settler. ^^

2230 BC: A Hittite Scout is spotted on the border of Chichén Itza. I still haven’t managed to see whose border is near Chichén Itza, however. That will change. My Settler is finished, and I’m starting work on a Spearman in my capital. The Hittites decide to contact me…and offer Alphabet for Mysticism AND 70 Gold. Like heck I’ll cave into that. I refuse.

2030 BC: The Japanese have sent a Settler to try and steal the Ivory to my SE. Though it isn’t an ideal city location, my Settler founds right where it is. No way am I going to lose four Ivory and I will NOT fight a war for it. Palenque, the third city of Maya, is born. Considering its nearby resources, it will be nicknamed “The City of Ivory”. My veteran Warrior also takes out a Barbarian encampment, which uncovers yet ANOTHER border, this one purple. I have a feeling I won’t be able to expand peacefully for much longer…

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/MayaThwartsJapan.JPG Just barely do I fend off Japan. Those Ivory will prove useful...

1990 BC: The border to my northwest belongs to France. I look towards a technology trade with them, but it’ll take Ceremonial Burial, Pottery, AND 5 gold to get Alphabet, the only technology they have that I don’t. I’m not willing to make a payment like that…not until I’m in more dire straits. So I contact Japan. I offer Mysticism for The Wheel, just to see what they’ll say. “They will be insulted by this deal”. I should’ve expected as much. Hopefully the purple border will be the Iroquois. They might be more friendly to me than the others.

1950 BC: It does belong to the Iroquois! I enter negotiations with them. They’re my same culture group, after all! They’re POLITE, not annoyed like the rest. Perhaps there’s some hope here for a friend. I offer Warrior Code for Alphabet – and they accept! Iron Working will be done in ten turns, so hopefully there will be Iron near me. My next goal is The Wheel. After I’ve expanded with a few more Settlers, I’ll start working on building a good military.

1910 BC: I get lucky through a Goody Hut! I get just the tech I wanted – The Wheel belongs to the Mayans, now.

1675 BC: The French decide to tick me off, founding Lyons right beside where I was going to place a city. I’ll make sure they pay for that later. For now, I’ll be passive. They are far more powerful than I am right now. Militarily, anyway.

1650 BC: Tikal is founded on some hills to my west, near some gemstones and cattle.

1625 BC: Iron Working has been researched. Begin looking into Mathematics. There’s no sign of Horses, but there’s an Iron right in my territory!

1575 BC: Founded Bonampak. It WAS going to be something else, but I accidentally clicked the x and the name did not repeat. Oh well. Still no horses in sight. There’s an orange border that’s come into view by my exploring Warrior, but it’s far to the south.

1550 BC: Apparently, Maya isn’t the smallest nation on Earth. In fact, it’s the second largest, next to the Japanese. I suppose that’s good, but the Japanese are my next-door neighbors.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/GreatMayaHistory1.JPG Maya's the second largest empire in the world at the moment. This is good. ^^

1500 BC: It turns out the orange-bordered civ to my south is Germany. Yet another aggressive civ. At least they aren’t a hop, skip, and a jump from me at the moment. Everyone is annoyed with me, except the Iroquois and the French [how they became polite, I have no idea]. This could prove to be quite a problem, later. I’ve been neglecting building Workers, though, and this is hurting me at the moment. Improvements are few and far between, and Tikal and Bonampak are not connected to the rest of Maya…

1450 BC: After a poor starting attempt to create a military, my first Javelin Thrower unit has been produced. Like I do with all UUs, I proclaim the first as an “Elite Guard” and fortify it in the capital. Hopefully, I’ll soon be on my way to producing them in higher quantities. Iron will hopefully be connected soon, as well. Maya has grown considerably since it started, but it seems inadequate. Any determined attacker could waltz in and conquer it. The Hittites seems a likely foe to try and do so…

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/MayanNation2.JPG As you can see, Maya's expanded fairly well. I don't know if the city placement is very good, though.

I have no idea whether I'm doing well or not. The AI is right on par with me technologically at the moment. The one way I can think of that I can outpace the AI is through military. If I can build the Statue of Zeus, I'll fill in the gap. With no access to horses as of yet, I have no fast units and Ancient Cavalry would more than fill in that gap. Of course, I need to actually get some decent industry going to get even my INFANTRY divisions going well...

Part 3: The Mayan Golden Age and the Treachery of Hatti [Sub-part 1]

1375 BC: Contact is made with the Egyptians to the far southwest, in the jungles and marshes near the equator. They are pretty advanced…on par with me. EXCEPT for the Alphabet. They have nothing to offer me except gold…however, Alphabet is widespread through other civilizations.

1300 BC: My road to iron is finished! ^^

1200 BC: Well, I just made the worst mistake ever. Mursilis came to my doorstep and demanded 39 gold and I refused. Hatti and Maya are now at war! And I’m not even half-prepared! And I don’t even know where I can FIND the Hittite cities…

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/HattiDeclaresWar1.JPG And so the first domino falls...

1125 BC: Now Japan jumps on the “hey, let’s go pick on Maya” bandwagon and demands 40 gold. I cave in…

1100 BC: Mathematics is finished! My first Swordsman is, also. I switch Chichén Itza’s production to “Statue of Zeus”, which will be completed in 29 turns.

1025 BC: Lagartero is founded to the SE of Palenque.

900 BC: I’ve finally located Hittite territory using one of my exploring Warriors…with some luck, I can wreak a little suicide havoc and buy myself a bit of time.

875 BC: The Statue of Zeus is due to ten turns. I have a horde of Swordsmen and Javelin Throwers amassing at the burg of Bonampak, my closest city to Hittite territory. I’ll need a considerable force to take Hatti, the most powerful of the AI’s at the moment.

825 BC: One of my Javelin Throwers engages combat with a lone Hittite archer to the north of Chichén Itza and triggers my golden age!

800 BC: To make matters worse, France and Hatti have signed a military alliance against me! France is right next door, too, so I have a lot more to worry about here…I’ll remember this, Joan.

750 BC: I begin my assault on the treacherous French by pillaging Orleans, a tiny city not far from Chichén Itza, with a Swordsman and a Javelin Thrower. The fools SENT OUT two Spearmen that were in the city, leaving one Spearman and a Worker. I’m sending my first wave against the French immediately. France is very weak compared to me (in fact, compared to EVERYONE), so pounding it into submission will not take much. Hatti, on the other hand…

730 BC: Never mind that “two Spearmen” comment. It was a Spearman and a Settler, and the same Swordsman that razed Orleans wiped that Spearman out.

710 BC: AW HECK! Japan just declared war on me, too! I swear, once I take Hattusas, I will strangle Mursilis PERSONALLY.

690 BC: This is getting REDUNDANT. Hatti gets the Iroquois against me, as well. Is this normal?

670 BC: Finally…the Statue of Zeus is completed! Ancient Cavalry should prove useful…I need everything I can get to secure my border cities from Japanese and Iroquois troops.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/KnownFrenchTerritory.JPG This is all of France I know of, with the exception of Rheims in the far-northern tundra, and it is not really worth mentioning.

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/KnownIroquoisTerritory.JPG This is Iroquois territory. Almost all there is, I'm sure, there may be a few cities I don't know of.

I have no real data on Hatti territory...except for the existance of one tiny burg named Tyrana.

I’ve read about AI’s ganging up on people, but I’ve never experienced it myself. Hatti and Japan are the most powerful AI civs, whilst Iroquois and France are among the weakest. Hatti is too far to really do anything major for the moment. Once I pacify (or eliminate) France, Hatti will die. I swear they will. This whole war was started over 39 gold! Mercy upon the others I shall offer, but Mursilis’s skull will hang in my palace...unless, of course, mine hangs in his by the end of this.

nice

he cool!

two days ago i started my first regent game also with the maya's! It's far more harder than warlord, so prepare yoursefl!
And you ask if these wars are normal? Yes they are. Maybe you should have asked Iroquois to join you right from the beginning, but now its too late to do that.
Good luck! I will be following this one

if you ever going to post again